Does it happen to you that you don’t keep up, that you live in a rush of events, that you haven’t stopped today, and everything isn’t done anyway? Or would you like to pursue a hobby, but feel like it just doesn’t fit into your schedule? Either you’re a workaholic who can’t (but doesn’t want to) break away from work, or you mismanage your time. What are the biggest time wasters and how to get rid of them?
Social networks
Their content is bottomless, so time passes very quickly here. If you fell for them too, start limiting them by setting a daily limit on your phone and it will then always alert you as soon as you cross it. At least you will get an overview of how much time you really spend on Instagram, Twitter or TikTok. In this case, it is better not to rely on your own estimation.
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Multitasking
Listening to a podcast while doing the dishes, watching a movie while ironing or talking on the phone while walking are completely natural things. It is always two activities, each of which employs a different part of the brain, so we manage them without any problems. But writing an e-mail and answering a colleague’s question at the same time is simply not possible. Therefore, accept that there is no multitasking.
For example, when you’re preparing a presentation and occasionally do some other small task to diversify your work, unfortunately it usually takes you much longer than if you did one thing first and then the other. The brain has to switch and start focusing on something elsewhile getting into deep concentration can easily take up to 20 minutes after each interruption.
Too many people
You don’t have to hang out with everyone just because you went to high school together or had a common subject in college. A person can have only a few true friends in life, the rest belong to the acquaintances section, which is usually filled by colleagues from work. We simply don’t have the capacity for more because a true friendship must be based on shared experiences, memories and plans, in short, on the time spent together. At the same time, it is good to realize which people in your life enrich you and whether maintaining a relationship is mutually beneficial and fun, or whether it is just a matter of filling time.
Unnecessary meetings
Say no to all meetings that are organized only because the other person is bored or has nothing else to do. Of course, some meetings are necessary or you simply want to go to them because you are interested – you like the person who invites you, or someone simply orders you to do so. But in that case clearly state how much time you have and what time you want to leave. It is ideal to announce this to the other person at the beginning so that they can take this into account and adapt the planned agenda accordingly.
Things you hate
Have you noticed that activities that you don’t enjoy take you much longer? At the same time, it is not so much that their fulfillment is more time-consuming, but that we often simply postpone them. For example, someone who hates talking on the phone would rather first write three articles, clean three rooms and replant all the flowers in the house, and only when there is nothing else left, will he finally pick up the phone and solve the much-deferred task in two minutes.
The worst thing is when you do a job that you don’t enjoy at all. It is proven that those who lack passion at work struggle much more with attention and focus. Therefore, try to focus on what fulfills you at work as well.
Working hours
It’s a bit of a paradox, but especially if you have a creative job, it makes absolute sense. No one can order you to be kissed by the muse at exactly 10:30. In short, some people think better at six in the morning, or vice versa at midnight or on the weekend, and thus spend the day in the office needlessly worrying about long-winded ideas that lead nowhere.
Ask successful entrepreneurs or even artists – they will confirm that the best ideas come uninvited and you often get them by accident, for example in the shower, while running, on a cable car in the mountains or on the way to lunch. Therefore, do not be bound by working hours and at the same time, don’t be afraid to occasionally do something outside of it, if you feel that right now you can do it yourself and quickly. You will save time spent at your desk, which you can then use in your own way. But if you have an old-school boss who insists on your presence “from to”, then just prepare something in advance or dedicate part of the day to non-work useful things like repeating English words and the like.
The article was published in Diet magazine. You can buy other titles in our online store iKiosek.cz.
Veronika Kašáková on the cover of Dieta magazine 07/22.
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Source: Lucie Robinson